


forever i'm yours, forever i do

by moonlightings



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Background Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Background Helen Blackthorn/Aline Penhallow, Background Luke Garroway/Maryse Lightwood, Background Simon Lewis/Isabelle Lightwood, Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, F/M, Future Fic, I'm new to this help, Immortal Alec Lightwood, Immortal Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Immortality, Kid Fic, Kinda, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, POV Magnus Bane, Post-Finale, because what other option is there, how do I tag things, so i'm here to give them to him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 07:51:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18796099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlightings/pseuds/moonlightings
Summary: This is the one, Magnus thinks, his fingers tangling in Alec’s hair. This is the one I’ve been searching for.or; A short glimpse into the lives of Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood in the year following their wedding, and the eternity following that.





	forever i'm yours, forever i do

**Author's Note:**

> So. Shadowhunters is over. 
> 
> It's crazy, it feels like just yesterday I was at my friend's viewing party for the premier and now it's done for good. That being said, the finale was absolutely everything I hoped it would be and more. But!!! Due to poor decision making on certain people's part (looking at you, freeform), everything had to be (understandably) pretty rushed, which lead to this fic being born! I've never published anything on AO3 before and I'm so proud of this lil fic so I really hope you enjoy :)
> 
> Feel free to come chat with me about malec/fics/anything else at @rosesdagger on twitter and @gentlelarrie on tumblr!

At first, the changes are small. 

Magnus knew the Shadowhunters had long-since gotten used to him hanging around the Institute, but he still didn’t expect them to be so welcoming to the other downworlders that came to attend his wedding (his  _ wedding, _ dear lord.) 

But as he stands next to Alec at the front of the room, watching sweet Madzie twirling with Max and Robert, Simon holding Isabelle close, Underhill chatting with Lorenzo (with his motives  _ much _ too obvious to any watching eyes, might he add), Magnus realizes a new dawn is beginning. 

Catarina says as much, later in the evening when she brings him another drink. Magnus is sitting down, smiling fondly at Alec, who’s chatting with an excited werewolf who somehow can’t get the hint that all he wants is to be back with Magnus. Every now and then they’ll catch each other's eye and Alec will burst out laughing, much to the poor werewolf’s confusion. “This is all because of you, you know,” Catarina says, gesturing around the room at the Shadowhunters and Downworlders all getting along, seeming somewhat stunned. 

“No,” Magnus says, looking at Alec again. “It’s because of him.”

✦

It’s much easier to adjust to married life than Magnus had been expecting. Alec had practically lived at his apartment for the past few months, so him moving in wasn’t much of a drastic change. They both jump back into work, Alec picking up the broken pieces left behind by Jonathan (not to mention trying to find a way to fill the gaping, Clary-sized hole in Jace’s heart) and Magnus taking on odd clients here and there. Definitely not the same as his old High Warlock job, but it’s not too bad. Especially considering he gets to mostly work from home, allowing him to spend as much time with Alec as possible when they’re free. 

Sometimes, Magnus looks at Alec and sees a forever. 

He knows,  _ god,  _ he knows they don’t have a forever. He had brought it up tentatively one night, whispering that he could start searching for a way to rid himself of his immortality while still keeping his magic, but he had barely gotten two words out before Alec had pressed a finger to his lips, quieting him. 

“Magnus. Look at me, babe. I don’t want you to do that. 

Magnus frowned. “Why not?”

“Because, by the Angel, Magnus, I...I think about growing old with you all the time. It’s my dream, and I wish we could have that.”

“But more than I want that, more than I want  _ anything,  _ I want you to be happy. And I know, because I know you, that mortality wouldn’t make you happy. Even if it would mean growing old together.”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. No one ever does. But I’m not letting you give up your life for me. You know, Magnus, I  _ know  _ you know that’s not what you really want.”

_ No,  _ Magnus thinks,  _ I want forever.  _

“You’re my husband. That’s never going to change. When I’m old and can barely move, when I’m long gone and you can barely remember what my voice sounds like, you’ll still be my husband. That’s our forever.”

“I’m always going to remember what your voice sounds like.”  _ I’m going to remember everything about you.  _

Alec smiles. “I love you so much. If you have to choose to remember anything about me, remember that.”

The tears in Magnus’s eyes start to fall. Alec leans over and brushes them away with the back of his hand, and Magnus swears he’s never loved him more. 

✦

Seven months after their wedding, Alec gets an offer to be the Inquisitor. He tells Magnus (who’s never been more proud in his long, long life) over dinner, and he doesn’t even have time to let the sadness over the thought of Alec moving out wash over him before Alec opens his mouth again. 

“I told them I would, on two very big conditions.”

Magnus holds his breath, barely daring to hope. 

“One- we adjust all the borders to allow for downworlders to pass through.”

And that… “That’s everything, Alexander,” Magnus mutters, awestruck. Downworlders have long been allowed to pass by as they pleased in New York thanks to a very progressive (and attractive, if you ask Magnus) head of the Institute, but...this means institutes around the world, Idris,  _ everywhere.  _ Because of Alec. His Alec. 

“You’re everything,” Alec says, pulling Magnus in for a quick kiss. “Which leads me to the next condition. I know you’re not overly thrilled with your new work demands…”

“Tell me about it. If I have to hear one more sob story from someone needing a love potion I’m going to start getting gray hairs.”

Alec smiles softly at that. “Exactly. So I struck a bit of a deal. You see, if my first act as Inquisitor is to allow downworlders to pass through Idris, I’m going to need someone there making sure those that come are protected. And since I was adamant that I wouldn’t leave if it meant moving away from you, the Clave has agreed to promote you. To High Warlock of Alicante, if you want.”

Magnus can’t remember the last time he was so stunned. 

Alec evidently mistakes his silence for hesitation, quickly adding, “it’s your decision, of course. No pressure. Just tell me that’s not what you want, and I’ll say no and we’ll stay here.”

Magnus shakes his head, unwilling to let him ramble anymore. “Alexander, that’s...that’s more than I could ever want,” he says, laughing. 

Alec smiles again, big and bright. “So you want to do it?”

Magnus grabs the back of his neck, pulling him in. “Inquisitor and High Warlock of Alicante, what a power couple,” he says before kissing him. 

This time, and so many others, Alec tastes like the promise of eternity. 

✦

The first day downworlders are allowed in Idris, Magnus throws a party. He claims it’s a part of his duty as the High Warlock, which makes Alec laugh as he tries to decide on one of the many themes Magnus has proposed to him. “You know you could never turn down a chance for a celebration,” he says, smiling. Alec was always smiling these days. 

“Oh, how could I? Besides, this is history in the making.” He snaps his fingers, two cocktails appearing on the table beside him. “Drink break?”

Alec glances up at him, clearly remembering what Magnus is referencing. Magnus said those exact words to him once, the first time Alec spent the night. It feels like so long ago, back when Magnus was still so uncertain of Alec and how they felt about each other. Even then, through all his uncertainty, he knew Alec was special. He was unlike any Shadowhunter Magnus had ever come across before, so subtle in his actions and modest in a way most of the Nephilim didn’t understand they could be. From day one, he had been a surprise. That still hasn’t changed. 

Alec stands up from where he’s sitting on the floor, surrounded by all of Magnus’s pictures for party ideas, and walks over to him. He bypasses the drinks on the table, instead grabbing Magnus’s waist and pulling him close, kissing him softly. 

_ This is the one,  _ Magnus thinks, his fingers tangling in Alec’s hair.  _ This is the one I’ve been searching for.  _

✦

It takes a lot to get Magnus Bane to cry in public. Around Alec and those that know him well, he tends to be more emotional, but in public he always tries to turn off that switch to keep up his mysterious-and-extremely-powerful Warlock persona, and he’s gotten pretty good at it over the last four hundred years.

But standing here, his husband’s arms around him, watching his people laugh and dance on land none of them ever thought they’d be allowed to step foot on, it’s all he can do to keep his steady stream of tears from turning into an outright sob. 

“You never cease to amaze me, Alexander,” he says, and Alec holds him tighter. 

They spend the rest of the night meeting as many people as possible, trying to get a grasp on who they’ll be dealing with as Head Warlock and Inquisitor. At some point Madzie and Catarina arrive, Madzie immediately running straight into Alec’s arms. He catches her and spins her around, mid-conversation with Aline and Helen who are showing off their new engagement rings to anyone willing to look. 

Catarina grabs Magnus’s hand, resting her head on his shoulder. “In all my centuries, I never even imagined something like this happening. 

Magnus smiles, looking around, seeing Luke and Maryse slow dancing close, Isabelle and Simon laughing, their heads pressed close together. He looks at all his friends, Shadowhunter and downworlder, and all those he has yet to meet. 

At his husband, holding a giggling Warlock child in his arms. 

“Me either,” he says, overwhelmed. 

Catarina hugs him, and together they watch the walls of the old world crumble down. 

✦

Three weeks later, as Magnus and Alec are debating the benefits of getting a small (as  _ if,  _ Magnus has never done anything small in his life) apartment in Florence, Jace bursts through the door. 

“By the Angel,” Alec exclaims, at the same time Magnus says, “if I wanted people barging into my house every second, we would have stayed into New York. Now, I know how much fun we are, but you can’t just-”

“Clary’s back.” Jace cuts him off abruptly. It’s only then that Magnus notices the tears in his eyes. 

Alec’s arms are around him in a second. After Jace calms down, giving a hasty explanation of all that happened in the alley with him and Clary, the three of them head off to the New York Institute. 

When they arrive, everything is quiet. Isabelle sits outside a closed door, tapping her foot like she does when she’s nervous. She stands up when she sees the three of them. “Simon’s in there with her right now,” she says. “But...you guys, she could  _ see  _ me.”

They wait together anxiously until Simon walks out, with Clary right behind him. She looks different, Magnus observes, and it’s more than just her haircut. She seems more confident, more mature and sure of herself. 

Her eyes immediately fix on Izzy, and her face breaks into the biggest smile. “I remember! Isabelle!” Izzy chokes on a sob, crushing Clary close to her in a massive hug. 

When they finally break away, Clary turns to Alec and Magnus. “You,” she says, pointing a pale finger in Magnus’s direction. “You call me biscuit. I remember that.”

Magnus grips Alec’s hand tight. “I do, Clary, yes, I do. It’s so good to see you again.”

“And you,” she points at Alec now, “you’re Alec. You’re Jace’s parabatai.”

Alec squeezes Magnus’s hand. “Yeah. That’s me.”

✦

Memories are strange. That’s what Magnus keeps telling Jace when he demands answers about Clary’s condition, and why she can remember things like where her old room is but not where they had their first date. 

Eventually, though, Clary comes back to them. She still has trouble with some things, but Jace is by her side to help her through them, reminding her of names and places and events when she gets frustrated with her inability to recall them. 

No one knows why her memories returned. Magnus brings it up to Alec one afternoon, asking if he really believes the whole “will of the Angel” thing everyone keeps saying. But Alec simply shrugs, grabbing Magnus’s hand. “Some things are just inevitable,” he says. 

Jace is over the moon. He and Clary are with each other nearly every second, and they’d probably already be married if Alec hadn’t convinced Jace to let her re-adjust before doing anything drastic. The two of them stay in New York with Isabelle and Simon, but they visit often. The alleyways of Alicante slowly fill up with Clary’s murals, a technique Izzy has suggested to help her regain her memories. She and Izzy have their parabatai ceremony no less than six months after her return to the Shadow World. Though Magnus has never been too fond of Shadowhunter ceremonies, the two of them are generous enough to let him throw the afterparty, so all in all it’s a pretty great day. 

One day, Magnus returns from a checkup on the Tokyo Institute’s wards to find Alec and the werewolf Maia in the living room, a baby nestled in Maia’s arms. 

A baby with two horns coming out of its head. A warlock’s mark. 

“Her parents abandoned her. They said they weren’t going to raise the Devil in their house, or something,” Maia tells them. Magnus winces; he’s heard that before. 

“I convinced them to let me take her instead of throwing her into the river, or god knows what else.” She looks up at Magnus. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

“We’ll take care of her, Maia. Don’t worry. Thank you for saving her.” Alec takes the baby into his arms, smiling down at her and making Magnus’s heart swell. He’s always loved seeing Alec with kids. Not that this is  _ their  _ kid; as much as he wants that, he’s sure that’s not what Alec means by “take care of her”. 

Except. 

When Maia leaves, Alec gestures for Magnus to sit by him on the couch, both looking down at the sleeping baby girl in Alec’s arms. 

“So? What do you think? Do you know anyone wanting to adopt?” asks Alec. 

Magnus doesn’t mean to say it, not really. He and Alec haven’t really discussed kids outside from that one time when they were with Madzie. It’s just, sitting here, seeing Alec hold the most beautiful baby girl, his wedding band shining against his skin, symbolizing the promise of something Magnus never thought he’d be able to have, he realizes this is all he wants. A family, one he gets to build and raise and love on his own. 

So when Alec asks him if he knows anyone looking to adopt, Magnus says, “I can think of one couple.”

“They’ve been married over two years and they’re both far too attractive for their own good. One is the Inquisitor and the other is Alicante’s High Warlock, which already makes them excellent role models.” Alec stares back at him, eyes unblinking, the ghost of a smile starting to appear on his face.

“They’ve never talked about having kids, not really, but they’d be the greatest parents, Alexander. When they’re ready. Which might now be now. And that’s okay, too.” Magnus stares at Alec, who’s now openly grinning. 

“You want kids?” Alec asks, his voice near breaking. 

Magnus thinks back to his childhood, all the hate and confusion and fear. If he and Alec had the chance to take in a baby Warlock, raise her with love and acceptance, showing her how to use her powers and navigate the world…

It isn’t even a question. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I do,” Magnus responds, and Alec’s smile grows even bigger. They’re both crying now, looking at each other with so much love. 

“Okay. Let’s do this.”

And that’s how the world begins again. 

✦

Magnus has never had much faith in the Angels, but Nadia Lightwood-Bane is making him think they may be on his side after all. 

The name belonged to Magnus’s mother. Alec had practically squeaked when he first heard it, and refused to even consider anything else. 

Isabelle, unsurprisingly, was the most excited to hear the news (besides maybe Maryse, who screamed for a full minute before Luke took the phone away from her). She and Simon come over at least once a week, demanding playtime and showering darling Nadia in more gifts than she’ll ever know what to do with. 

More surprising to Magnus is how much Jace seems to love her. He and Clary stop by every now and then, not as much as Izzy and Simon, but enough so that Nadia giggles and claps her hands in recognition when they walk through the door. Aline and Helen do most of the babysitting when Magnus and Alec have a date, much to Jace’s disappointment (“we don’t need to teach her how to hold a seraph blade, Jace!”), and Maia tends to take over when both of them are on missions, allowing her some time to get to know the girl as well. Nadia herself becomes a bit of a celebrity in Alicante, after all, it’s not every day that the Inquisitor has a Warlock child. Magnus is happy to say that the attention is mostly positive, which is remarkable considering what state the Shadowhunter and downworld relationship was in not three years ago. 

Time passes in the blink of an eye, and soon, Magnus is celebrating his third wedding anniversary with a man who amazes him more and more every day. By now, relations between downworlders and Shadowhunters are at an all-time high across the world, a result of not only changing the wards, but the establishment of a downworld/Nephilim council in every major Institute in the world, all overseen by Alec. They’re all kept busy by the ever-present number of demons threatening mundanes (Magnus has hoped they would have died out after the fall of Edom, but no such luck; the survivors managed to find a new realm to inhabit and populate), but for the most part, things are peaceful, as far as the Shadow World is concerned. 

It was inevitable, really, when Jace bursts through their door the same way he did when Clary first returned, a panicked look on his face. Magnus, Alec, and Nadia all just stare, long-since used to him barging in at random times. 

“I need you to help me propose to Clary.”

Magnus claps his hands in glee, already spitting out ten different ideas, because while his engagement was perfect and he wouldn’t change it for the world, there wasn’t much time for extravagance when the world was  _ literally burning down _ ,  so needless to say he’s excited to get to go all out.

Turns out his efforts are all in vain, because while Jace may be a very powerful Shadowhunter the man needs serious help when it comes to being romantic. He and Clary have just arrived to their Parisian rooftop dinner when Jace, master of stealth himself, leans down to pull Clary’s chair back and ends up dropping the ring box from his coat pocket, causing Clary to scream, then cry, then say yes about ten million times (all while Magnus never even got to use the doves he was planning on releasing during the big moment- shame). But it’s Jace and Clary, which means it’s perfect, and Magnus will admit he tears up a bit watching them, wrapping his arm around Alec’s waist and pulling him close, glancing down at his own wedding band. 

✦

When the (new, thanks Jonathan) Seelie Queen calls on Alec to visit her, Magnus thinks nothing of it at first. Considering Seelie representatives are now stationed all over the world, it was only a matter of time before the Queen requested a conference with the man in charge. 

He’s gone longer than Magnus had expected, and when he returns, Magnus can tell he’s distracted. He quickly puts Nadia down for bed and forces Alec into the living room to tell him what happened. 

“I mean, it went well,” Alec starts, staring off into the distance. “She’s very pleased with the new policies regarding downworlders. And she likes me; that’s what she said, anyway. She wants me to be the Inquisitor for a long time,” he finishes, now looking at Magnus. 

Magnus nods. “That’s good. She doesn’t compliment often.”

“She, uh, she said she always wants someone in power who’s as concerned with downworlder affairs as they are with Shadowhunter ones. After what happened with the last Queen, she wants to ensure that no Shadowhunter ever gets the chance to do what Jonathan did again.” Alec swallows. “I told her I would ensure that wouldn’t happen. And then, uh, she said “I know, but what about when you’re gone? Shadowhunters don’t live forever.” And then she started asking me about you, and Nadia, and-” Alec turns his whole body towards Magnus, his eyes wild. “Magnus, she wants be to be the Inquisitor for a really long time.”

Magnus gasps. “You don’t mean…”

“Yeah. She wants to make me immortal.” Alec shakes his head, as if he can’t quite believe the words coming out of his mouth. “She wanted to do it right then, actually, but I told her I needed to discuss it with everyone else first. I have three days before she wants me to go back.”

Magnus blinks, unwilling to let himself think. “What are you going to do?”

Alec stares at him, trying to read what he’s feeling. “What do you want me to do?”

_ I want you to stay with me forever,  _ Magnus thinks,  _ but I know I can’t ask that of you.  _

Magnus looks down, thinking over his words very carefully before he speaks. “I want you,” he starts, “for as long as I can have you. If you were to become immortal, Alexander, that would be-” he stops, closes his eyes, sighing. “It doesn’t matter what I think, though, okay? This, immortality, it’s not a choice you can make lightly. You can’t make it because of me, or Nadia, or anyone else. It has to be you.”

“I’ve watched so many of my friends grow old and die. If you chose this, I would be with you, god knows I’ll always be with you, but not everyone would. Izzy, Maryse, Jace, one day you’ll lose them all.”

“Not you, though,” says Alec, eyes still trained on Magnus. 

“No,” Magnus agrees, “never me.”

“And Nadia. She’d always have both of us.” Alec stands up, starts pacing around the room. “And...and Madzie, and Catarina, and Simon…” He stops pacing and looks at Magnus again. “Plus, I’d always be able to watch out for Izzy and Jace’s descendants, if they have any. And, the Seelie Queen is right. What I’m doing to reunite the Shadow World right now, it won’t matter if someone just undoes it all when I’m gone.”

Magnus isn’t breathing. “Alexander, it sounds like you’re actually considering this.”

Alec kneels down in front of him, grabbing his hands. “Magnus, when you were in Edom, I was one step away from turning myself into a vampire to come see you. I would have done it if Izzy hadn’t gotten there first. And now, with Nadia here...listen, I told you I was never leaving you again, and I meant it. I still mean it. I  _ want  _ this. I want forever.”

Magnus swallows, trying to suppress his smile. He almost succeeds. “You need to talk to everyone else, still, before you make any decisions.”

Alec grins. “I will, but nothing they say will change my mind.”

✦

They talk to Isabelle first. She sits there in silence for a long time, before turning to Alec and muttering, “I can’t believe you’re gonna be hotter than me some day.” Alec laughs and pulls her close, and Magnus can see the gratefulness in his eyes when he looks at his sister. 

Isabelle turns to Magnus next, her eyes deadly serious when she says, “you better take care of him, Bane. Don’t screw this up.”

Magnus smiles. “I’ll do my absolute best. I don’t plan on letting him go. 

Izzy nods. “Watch out for Simon, okay? Both of you.”

“Hey. I’m not going anywhere yet. Just because I won’t be aging doesn’t mean I won’t be a pain in your ass still,” says Alec, hugging his sister again. 

Maryse takes the news with almost too much enthusiasm, Magnus thinks, when she claps her hands together in glee, hugging both of them tight and exclaiming, “I always hoped you’d find a way.” Luke, bless him, pretends to be a little more apprehensive, asking Alec at least twenty times if he’s sure this is what he wants, but even he can’t keep the grin off his face. Before they leave he hugs them both, saying he doesn’t think he’s ever seen a couple more perfect for eachother (“except maybe one,” he finishes a moment later, grabbing Maryse’s hand as she beams up at him). 

Then they tell Jace. 

He isn’t surprised, at least. He simply nods when Alec tells him, and just like Isabelle, doesn’t say anything for a little while. When he finally speaks, he speaks to Alec, his eyes big and vulnerable. “You have to promise me, Alec, you’ll still be around when I’m old, or when I can’t fight anymore.”

Alec laughs incredulously. “Of course. I’m never leaving you, I’ll just look like this forever now. Plus, now I’ll always be around to tell your and Clary’s grandkids how much of a dick you were.”

Jace smiles slightly. “I’m not the only one who’s a dick.”

“That’s why we work so well together.”

“If you ever try to rub it in that you look better than I do at 70, I’ll kill you myself.”

“Deal. Plus, even at 70 you’ll still be better looking.”

That makes Jace smile for real. “Damn right I will be.”

✦

As per the Seelie Queen’s request, Alec has to go alone. Magnus waits anxiously at the court entrance for him, Nadia wrapped tightly in his arms. Behind him are Jace and Isabelle, sitting close together as they await the return of their brother.  

After what feels like an eternity, Alec comes back to them. To any normal observer he would look exactly the same, but the three waiting for him know him better than anyone else, and they can see the little differences. The way he carries himself, with a sort of newfound confidence; the bright sparkle in his eyes. The way he smiles bigger than Magnus has ever seen before. 

They hug him all at once, a pile of arms surrounding him with so much love. Eventually Izzy and Jace break away, retreating back to their bench, and Alec fixes his eyes on his husband and child. He gently takes Nadia from Magnus’s arms, looking down at her with a smile Magnus has only seen him use when they’re alone or with their daughter. Alec holds her close, balancing her tiny head in his shoulder, and that’s when it hits Magnus. 

“Alexander,” he says, his eyes filling with tears as he reaches out, fingers finding Alec and pulling in into his chest. “Alexander,” he says again, because he doesn’t know what else to say. How is he supposed to put this into words? How does he describe the feeling, after living a life full of so many painful losses, of finding the one thing he’ll never have to lose? He can’t. There’s no words. 

“I know,” Alec says, voice muffled by Magnus’s shirt, because of course he knows. Alec knows Magnus in a way no one else ever will, knows how he likes his coffee and what brings his cat eyes out and what he looks like when he cries. He knows so much and he’ll keep learning more because now he  _ can _ , they have forever to learn all there is to know about each other. 

_ Forever I’m yours, forever I do.  _

When Alec kisses him, Magnus realizes that he’s never truly known what magic was until this moment. 

✦

“For god’s sake, Raphael, you’ve been alive for almost a hundred years and you still can’t hang a sign straight?”

Raphael huffs in anger, the giant banner reading CONGRATULATIONS JACE AND CLARY falling from his hands to the floor. “They don’t exactly cover this in vampire training. Or church, for that matter. Besides, don’t you have magic? Why can’t you just do it yourself?”

Magnus contemplates this. “I like making you angry.”

Alec laughs from behind him, and Magnus spins around, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “How does it look?”

“Besides the crooked banner,” Alec starts, earning him a glare from Raphael, “it’s incredible. As always,” he says, smiling at Magnus. 

They both turn to see Madzie walking through the room in front of the just-arriving Catarina, holding Nadia’s hand and helping her keep her balance as she tries to walk. When they pass by Raphael, Madzie glances at the banner before snapping her fingers, attaching it to the wall perfectly straight. 

Raphael turns to Magnus, exasperated. “Was that so hard?”

Magnus waves him off, grabbing Alec’s hand and running after Madzie and Nadia to get them into their wedding outfits. 

Two hours later, they’re tossing flowers as they walk to stand next to a teary eyed Jace, looking happier than Magnus has ever seen him as he waits for Clary at the end of the aisle. 

Their wedding is beautiful (of course it is, Magnus planned it), and everyone in the room gets emotional as the two exchange their vows. Later, when Clary throws her massive bouquet, it lands straight in Isabelle’s arms, who looks over at Simon with a blush creeping up her neck. 

But even though that reaction should have been all the encouragement he needed, Simon waits another year and a half before proposing. “I had to make sure she wouldn’t run away,” he tells Alec, earning him a smile and a peck on the cheek from Izzy. Magnus doesn’t get as much say in their wedding as he’d like, so it ends up being a strange eclectic mix of Shadowhunter, vampire, and mundane traditions. But Isabelle is so, so happy, which means Magnus and Alec are too. 

When Alec tells Magnus he wants another kid, Magnus nearly faints. He knew it was going to happen eventually; Nadia’s been asking for a baby brother as a present for practically every holiday or formal gathering since she’s turned seven. (Magnus had to draw the line at funerals; it just made things awkward.)

He never thought he would have a family. For a while, he wasn’t even sure if he deserved one. Magnus will never forget how he felt when he realized so many of his friends had come to save him in Edom. He wasn’t used to being a priority, and he knew that he would always end up sacrificing himself to save others. 

But then they had found him. 

Alec had come marching in, Meliorn and Simon and fucking  _ Lorenzo  _ right behind him. He had looked straight into Magnus’s eyes and told him, “I’m staying here with you.”

That was when Magnus realized he’d had a family all along. 

Still, though, hearing Alec say he wants another kid, another commitment, has Magnus reeling. Because this isn’t Alec simply agreeing to it like with Nadia. This is all him, being as honest and open as he can be, saying he’s in this forever. Which,  _ okay, duh.  _ Alec became immortal for him, Magnus knows this. But every gesture, both big and small, that he’s done since to confirm that this, that Magnus, is still what he wants, never fails to make Magnus’s heart weak. 

They name their son Ragnor, after the man who told Magnus to fight for the love he now can’t imagine his life without. 

Jace and Clary are next, with Clary giving birth to two twin girls (which only makes Magnus a little jealous; he’s always loved twins). They’re fantastic parents, Clary’s soft nature balancing out Jace’s more, ahm,  _ intense _ personality perfectly, and it’s not long before their girls reach the same age that Nadia and Ragnor seem to be stuck at (as far as Magnus can tell, they both seem to be about twenty, but that hasn’t stopped Nadia from reminding everyone she’s older every chance she gets).

Simon and Isabelle never have kids, and the one time Magnus keeps Izzy up late enough to where she’ll talk about it, she tells Magnus she wouldn’t have had it any other way. “Gives me the chance to be everyone’s favorite aunt,” she says, smirking. Magnus sighs, knowing all their kids would agree. Nadia is with Izzy almost more than she’s with him and Alec these days. And then there’s Aline and Helen’s kids, who would walk into a fire as long as it was Izzy waiting for them on the other side. Alec tells Magnus he suspects this is why their daughter took over as Head of the New York Institute after Izzy, but she refuses to ever admit to anything. 

Years pass, and the poison of prejudice slowly leaks out of the Shadow World. They still don’t all see eye to eye, obviously, and everyone still takes jabs at species that aren’t their own every once in a while, but those jabs are now more playful than anything. Deep down, Magnus thinks they’re all just happy to finally get to stop fighting. 

One day in June, as Magnus watches Madzie and Nadia chase after Ragnor for stealing the vampire hair they need for a love potion they’re cooking up, Catarina tells him she thinks he’s fallen back in love with life again. 

Magnus doesn’t miss the way her words make Alec smile, pretending to be asleep with his head in Magnus’s lap. 

The earth turns, and turns some more. For the first time in his long life, Magnus isn’t focused on the passage of time as it rushes by, too fast for him to truly focus one one thing, one person. Rather, he’s focused on the memories he gets to make in the present. His world, he discovers, has slowed down. 

He used to look at Alec and see the short amount of time they had left, and all they still had yet to do. Every moment was about preparing for the next, about giving Alec the love he deserved for as long as he was allowed to. 

But now they have forever, and Magnus doesn’t have to worry about the future. All he has to do, all he  _ wants  _ to do, is live in each moment as much as possible. He’s found his person. And this time, he never has to say goodbye. Finally, he gets to ask, “what next?” with a heart full of excitement, not one recovering from the lingering effects of grief. 

Years, decades, centuries later, Magnus is still every bit as in awe as he was when Alec first kissed him. Still every bit as in love as he was when they got married. They’re somewhat of living legends in the Shadow World, the Inquisitor and High Warlock with their two children, the family responsible for the peace they’ve all enjoyed since the death of the demonic rogue Shadowhunter so long ago. 

Stories about them have been passed down for generations, though when asked they always smile and refuse to confirm or deny anything. Most of them are ridiculous, like that Alec’s choice weapon is a live snake that spits poison or that Magnus once had a thing with one of the angels (he may have started that one himself.)

Some of them are less ridiculous, like the one that says Ragnor got his name from the Warlock who first put Magnus and Alec together (half true), or that Alec and the vampire named Simon who frequents Alicante have matching lockets containing a picture of Alec’s sister (true, but it’s not just of Izzy; Simon’s has a picture of Clary as well, while Alec’s has one of Jace).

Magnus’s favorite is that it was Raziel, not the Seelie Queen, who granted Alec immortality, because he had never seen a love as beautiful as theirs before and refused to let it die. 

His mind flashes back to something Alec told him centuries ago, when he asked him why he thought Clary had gotten her memories back. Alec had held his hand and told him, “some things are just inevitable.”

Alec was inevitable. 

Magnus has always loved fiercely, never thinking he would get to be loved the same way in return. But with Alec, he’s never doubted anything. Not for a long, long time. 

He walks in from the balcony of their Parisian apartment (it took nearly six decades, but Alec finally agreed to buy them a place here) and into his bedroom, where his husband is already laying down. Magnus walks over and presses a kiss to his forehead before crawling under the covers, Alec’s arms immediately coming up to wrap around him and pull him close to his chest. 

As always, they fit together perfectly. 

And together they’ll remain, until the end of all things. 


End file.
